


Repairs

by AlexandrianSight



Series: Killing You is Hard [3]
Category: Portal (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-12
Updated: 2016-08-12
Packaged: 2018-08-08 07:04:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7747855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexandrianSight/pseuds/AlexandrianSight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i> "Chell watched as the gun hit a button on the wall and the piece flew past the robot-<br/>And into the incinerator." </i>
</p>
<p>Chell ventures down into the incinerator to recover an important part of GLaDOS's chassis. While down there, she meets an old friend - and discovers something unsettling.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Repairs

In hindsight, maybe Atlas and P-Body weren’t the most qualified candidates to help her repair a broken part of the chassis.

GLaDOS had called Chell into the main chamber in order to help repair parts of the chassis that were difficult to reach. Because of this, she’d explained, they had never been fixed properly after she’d woken up.

“I’ve been having some...issues with the hardware lately, though, so it’s no longer a problem that I can ignore,” GLaDOS finished.

The AI had explained that the two robots were only there to assist; they were nowhere near capable of doing the job on their own.

“Their purpose is to test, not fix delicate machinery,” She’d explained as P-Body cautiously approached Chell before holding up a hand. Confused, she stared at it until Atlas trotted up from behind her and high-fived its partner. When P-Body offered up its hand a second time, GLaDOS interrupted before Chell could respond.

“Behavior like that is a side-effect of a bug in their systems. Pay no attention to it.”

Discouraged, P-Body lowered its hand before racing Atlas back over to where the tools were.

“They’ll hand you whatever you need. They can do _that_ much,” GLaDOS said. Chell looked up at the part of the chassis where it met the ceiling, wondering how she was going to get up there. Just then, one of the AI’s robotic claws descended from the ceiling. Chell swiftly sidestepped to avoid it, glaring.

“Stop being ridiculous; this is the fastest way to move you and to make sure you’re placed correctly. Trust me, I’d rather not be lifting someone of your...generousness.”

Chell sighed and crossed her arms stubbornly, but didn’t move as the claw wrapped around her middle and lifted her high into the air before placing her down near the top of the chassis.

GLaDOS grunted. “You’d better work quickly. Who knows how long we have until your weight causes a system failure.”

Irritated, Chell reached out and yanked a random cord. Not hard enough to cause any damage, but enough for the Core to realize that she was in no position to be angering Chell. The chassis flinched and Chell had to cling onto part of it in order to stay on.

“Fine,” GLaDOS said begrudgingly as Atlas and P-Body ran up near the chassis with piles of various parts in their arms. A floor panel below them lifted so that they were at the same height as Chell.

She reached out to take the tool that P-Body held out for her. She set to work disassembling the parts that GLaDOS pointed out. The two robots stood watching her, occasionally turning and gesturing to each other and making buzzing and chirping noises, communicating something that Chell wouldn’t be able to understand. They reminded her of dogs in how they watched her with fervent curiosity, blinking as their optics would zoom in on her hands, or leaning with her whenever she went to reach for another part of the framework.

At one point, Chell was holding a larger piece when she realized she couldn’t install it quite yet, and gently tossed it to Atlas. It caught it with its gun, and seemed to enjoy the action. The robot turned to its partner, who was down below gathering more tools. Atlas made various vocal noises, getting P-Body’s attention, and tossed the piece. P-Body caught it and, understanding the game, spun around in excitement before throwing the piece back.

“What are you two doing?” GLaDOS asked disdainfully. Chell idly watched them out of the corner of her eye as she worked. It wasn’t like they were doing any harm.

“STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!” The Core shouted as Atlas threw the piece again. Startled, P-Body turned towards her faceplate and flung its hands in the air in surrender, sending its gun flying behind it and forgetting about the piece. Chell watched as the gun hit a button on the wall and the piece flew past the robot-

And into the incinerator.

Chell grimaced as GLaDOS berated the robots.

“Well, congratulations,” Her voice had taken on her menacingly low tone. “You two truly _have_ become human. You now share their affinity for _destroying my facility._ Now I’m _certain_ that giving you arms was a big mistake. You’d better hope that it didn’t fall directly into the fire because _you’re_ going down to get it.”

P-Body shook with fear and pointed at itself questioningly.

“Yes, you! That was the only cover fitting the size requirements that we have, and you just threw it into the Aperture Science Emergency Intelligence Incinerator.”

Chell sighed and jumped off of the framework, trusting her long fall boots as she landed and kept walking.

“What are you doing?” GLaDOS asked as Chell nonchalantly picked up her gun and threw the wrench she was holding at the same button, causing the incinerator hatch to reopen. She paused briefly to glance back at all three robots, who were silently watching her, before jumping into the hatch.

* * *

 

 

 She figured it would be easiest for everyone if _she_ went down to get the cover instead of either of the two robots. They meant well, but she wasn’t so sure that they could navigate their way back to the main chamber as quickly as she could.

Chell landed on top of a pile of scrap metal, already feeling the heat of the incinerator below her. The metal started sliding, causing her to stumble and jump down onto a more sturdy section. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she set out to look for the piece that had fallen. She hoped it had landed around here instead of in the fires below.

She was making her way across a makeshift bridge when she heard a familiar voice call out.

“Hellllllo there, pretty lady!” The voice came from behind her, and she shuddered with recognition.

Chell turned and watched as the Adventure Core - or Rick, as he called himself - made his way over to her using a rail that hung a bit higher up.

“Weren’t finished with ol’ Rick, eh? Decided you couldn’t be away from me for one more second? I see how it is, I understand. You’ve had a taste - a taste of adventure - and now you’re addicted.”

Chell worked to hide the disgust on her face as she turned away from the core and continued her search.

“Now, you’re probably asking yourself, ‘How did such a handsome, heroic core end up down here? And I’ll tell you-”

She scoffed as she leapt off the bridge and onto another pile of metal, with the sphere still following on the railing.

“I’m sure you remember I was _blasted_ into space. That’s right, I was the _first_ core in space. What you probably don’t remember is that my handle - this one, right here -” The sphere wiggled his bottom handle “- got caught in a cord. Prevented me from flying out like those other two. When She pulled you in, I was pulled right along with you. And later, while you were havin’ your little lady break after that whole space ordeal, _She_ fixed herself up back in that body of Hers and ejected Fact-o - I’m sure you remember him - and I took the opportunity to tell Her, I said, ‘Now you listen-’ and She did ‘-I’m sure you know that everythin’ I do is for the good of others, but sometimes a little bit of a thank-you would be mightily appreciated.’ And do you know what She did?”

Chell glanced over the edge, contemplating jumping.

“Why, She threw me down into the incinerator, just like that! Best thanks I’ve ever received. Down here, it’s explosion central. _Every_ day is Explosion Day. Which reminds me, happy Explosion Day, gorgeous.”

Chell turned so the core wouldn’t see her gag. She looked around the walls of the room, wondering if there were cameras in here, if GLaDOS was watching this. She could just imagine the AI considering this the easiest way to torture her without actually harming her.

“So, this is my job now. I work the incinerator and make sure to keep it running, keep everything _explosive_. You seem intent on finding whatever it is you’re looking for. Tell you what, why don’t you tell me what you’re looking for, and Rick will take care of it for you. You can just take a load off, kick back, and relax while I finish out this hunt for you.”

Chell pinched the bridge of her nose, the heat of the incinerator working in tandem with the core’s idiocy to give her a headache. She was soaked in sweat by now and feeling parched, and Rick’s presence only made her more irritable. She was starting to regret not letting P-Body come down here.

Just then, she spotted the cover over in the corner, hidden by a pile of Weighted Storage Cubes. She dashed over and picked it up before turning back around, opting to carry it with her free hand instead of with the gun’s zero-point energy field manipulator. The way out was at the other side of the room from where she was. Chell sighed and slowly made her way across the room using the various larger scraps that spanned across the space. She glanced over at the sphere - who was rambling on about something to do with a bull and a piece of gum - and noted that he wasn’t very good at his job, seeing as there were still so many pieces of garbage that hadn’t made it into the actual incinerator. She wasn’t going to complain, though; if he were good at his job, she might not have been able to rescue the piece.

Luckily, Rick’s railing ended with the room, which meant he couldn’t follow her out. She dashed out and quickly portaled her way onto a ledge above, ignoring his calls of “Goodbye, gorgeous!”

As she swiftly navigated her way through the old testing chambers, Chell heard GLaDOS chime in.

“I see you ran into an old friend down there.”

Chell scowled, certain that the AI was already plotting to use the core to annoy her in the future.

“Sorry about that. I had no idea he’d survived his fall.”

Chell paused, surprised by the apology. She looked up at a nearby camera as it tracked her, confusion apparent on her face.

“Of course, there’s really no reason for me to apologize. You jumped down here out of your own accord, after all.”

Chell decided to ignore her and keep moving. She was halfway to the point where she could break off of the testing track and head towards the main chamber.

“Why _did_ you volunteer to come down here, anyway? I had it taken care of-”

“P-Body would’ve taken too long,” Chell gruffly interrupted. She enjoyed the few seconds of peace that she earned by surprising GLaDOS with speech.

“Still, the imbecile would’ve gotten it done...eventually. Or are you just that impatient?”

Chell shrugged, returning to silence. She glanced around and noticed a broken panel that stuck out, giving access to the area behind it. She was still a few rooms away from the end of the testing track, so she decided to see if this would offer up a separate escape.

The panel barely stuck out enough for her to squeeze through. She ducked under the surrounding panels and was met with a pitch-black room. Squinting, she tried to look around for any sign of a way out.

“Where did you go?” GLaDOS spoke out. Chell absentmindedly rapped on the metal pole controlling the broken panel as she walked past it.

It was noticeably cooler in this room, and much quieter as well. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as a cool air draft gently blew past her, cooling the sweat that still clung to her. She heard a noise that sounded like breathing.

Frustrated that she couldn’t see, Chell put down the cover and picked it back up with the gun, hoping that the light it emitted would help her to see. It barely helped, only giving off a bit of light. She moved, trying to get a grip on her surroundings, holding out the gun as it illuminated the bit of space. She turned around and saw the face of a crazed man.

Chell gasped and stumbled backwards. She accidentally let go of the trigger that controlled the energy field manipulator, causing the cover to fall to the floor with a clang.

“What was that? Did something happen?” The omnipresent voice rang out. In her shock, Chell didn’t register the tone of concern in GLaDOS’s voice.

Working to catch her breath, Chell ignored the AI and picked the cover back up, using the light to investigate what she’d seen.

It wasn’t really a man, but rather a painting of a man. Chell recognized the style as the same one she’d seen in various areas of the facility, including the large murals dedicated to GLaDOS’s death as well as Chell’s return to cryosleep.

She moved the light over the wall and realized that it was an _unfinished_ painting of a man looking over his shoulder in fear. The head was fully painted, but the rest of the body was merely sketched out on the wall. She stepped closer to investigate the face.

The man had a crazed expression, with bloodshot eyes and dilated pupils. His hair was in wild spikes around his head, and he had a beard that looked like it had grown because of lack of a way to keep it shaved. Chell moved the light above the painting, wondering if words accompanied this one.

Instead, she found an impressionist-style series of black blobs that resembled GLaDOS’s chassis, with a yellow dot near the bottom to represent her optic. Something was unsettling about this depiction, though. It somehow felt _more_ sinister than the other depictions of the AI. Even compared to the other crazed murals she’d seen, this one looked...off. Why was it unfinished? Who was this man? Chell couldn’t recall any human besides her being depicted in explicit detail like this in any other paintings. She continued to investigate the wall, looking for words, for some kind of meaning behind this painting. Was it another message to her? Or was it just another crazy rambling?

As she investigated, something caught her eye. The letter E. Except it wasn’t in a sentence separate from the painting. What Chell had originally thought were random shapes making up GLaDOS’s chassis were actually letters. She moved even closer, her face almost up against the wall in an attempt to make out what they said. An L over here...or was it an I? Chell used her finger to trace along the words as she finally made out what they said.

_Evil Again_

_Do Not Trust_

These two phrases were repeated and stacked on top of each other over and over to create the imagery of the chassis. The yellow optic formed the dot above the I in an ‘again.’ Chell felt the chill of the concrete wall seep into her fingers as she traced over the letters, and it felt as if that chill traveled immediately into her spine. She was entranced, trying to figure out what exactly the image was trying to communicate. Evil _again_? Was this saying GLaDOS would turn on her? Chell tried to dismiss it - they had an agreement, after all. Reluctant Cohabitation. The AI had even gone so far as to save her life - twice, now - and trusted her to repair the chassis. Why would she turn on her?

Chell furrowed her brow as she realized something. The artist behind all of the other murals had painted them over fifty thousand years ago, which meant this one had to have been painted back then as well. The creator had to be long dead by now, right? So how could they possibly predict something like that?

Except _Chell_ was alive. She had survived through cryosleep. But she was the only one, wasn’t she? Surely Wheatley would’ve known-

She pursed her lips in doubt. The core _was_ ‘designed to be a moron,’ as GLaDOS had put it. It was entirely possible he hadn’t realized that another human had survived.

So was it true? Chell’s hand moved down to trace the lines of the man’s face. Was there another human living in the facility? Roaming around backstage and managing to avoid the omnipotent AI? Were they watching Chell’s actions and interactions with the other robots?

Were they trying to warn her about something she didn’t know?

“Can you hear me?”

Chell flinched and tore her hand away from the wall at the sound of GLaDOS’s voice. Her mind was forced back to the present, to the task at hand.

“Are you okay?”

Chell paused, finally registering the concern in the AI’s voice. She quickly turned and ducked out of the room and back into the test chamber. She looked up and watched the nearest camera track her movement.

“Oh,” The word was mixed with a sigh of relief. “There you are- ” The AI seemed to catch herself, and when she spoke again, it was in a slightly more apathetic tone. “I was worried you’d managed to break that cover and decided to hide from me. Not that you’d be able to. Well, not for long, at least.”

Chell scoffed and continued along the testing track as per her original plan. She couldn’t help but dwell on what GLaDOS had said, though. She claimed that Chell couldn’t hide from her, so how did that artist live within the walls for so long? Was it really possible that they were still here, still hiding in the walls?

* * *

 

Chell quickly made her way back to the main chamber, where she was greeted by chirps and screeches of joy from Atlas and P-Body. The chassis swiveled around to watch the two run up to Chell and offer her high-fives. This time, Chell high-fived both of them, unable to hold back a grin. Ecstatic that she’d done this, the two robots both started to dance, and Chell had to fight to refrain from laughing.

“Ah, yes, congratulations on completing a route that you’ve walked twice before. A real triumph,” GLaDOS spoke out over the robot’s chirps. “If you don’t mind, there’s still some _real_ work to be done.”

A claw descended again to pick up Chell, and she quickly passed her portal gun to P-Body before being lifted into the air. She went back to work quietly, still thinking about that mural.

She ultimately decided to dismiss it as crazy ramblings. Things were different this time, after all. There was no reason to suspect GLaDOS of plotting to kill her again. After all, why would she have let her live this long? Why would she be trusting Chell to fix her body? The artist was mistaken.

Even as she assured herself again and again, the message lingered in the back of her mind.

_Evil Again_

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for the read! I currently have like a billion more pieces for this series lined up. Some of them just need editing...some need finishing...some have yet to be written...
> 
> All in good time.
> 
> If you're interested in keeping up with what I'm writing, feel free to follow me at alexandriansight.tumblr.com
> 
> (Please comment with any feedback you have!! I'm always up for constructive criticism!!!)


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